Golden

It was 50 years ago that my parents married, which, of course means there MUST be celebration!!

My brother and friends and I worked together, and an evening of celebration was had.

Here are some thoughts on the evening:

Best Friend Contribution (tied for 1st! Place)

I walked in the house, plopped 2 dozen golden and brilliantly sunset-colored roses on the counter, along with framed pictures, and Debbie made magic.  

Love how she nestled the roses in my grandmother's Limoges teacups with the wide gold bands.  Love how she stacked up vintage books in the beautiful color of the sunset roses and grouped the pics on top of the books.

The colors of the roses were stunning.

Best Friend Contribution (tied for 1st place!)

This is Barb's dreamy cake . . . delicate and iridescent on the outside / rich carrot cake on the inside.

Love the little, elegant swoop of the golden balls, drifting out from the flowers.  Divine!

The Menu

* * * 

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Hot Crab Dip with Toast Points

Stuffed Mini Sweet Peppers

Fresh Vegetables with Homemade Ranch and Hummus

Smoked Salmon Spread with Assorted Crackers

Homemade Guacamole and Tortilla Chips

Tropical Fruit Skewers

Strawberries dipped in Ganache

Carrot Cake

Fruited Water

French Vanilla Coffee

Best Food Prep

Definitely goes to my brother, proprietor of West First Wood-Fired Pizza, who came through big time with 2/3 of the food.  Yes, it and he rushed in the door at the last minute.  Yes, much of it was still in bags and had to be assembled.  But he brought his right-hand girl and totally delivered!!  Yummmmmmmm!

Most-Enjoyed Hors d'Oeuvres

I'm the one voting here, so I'm voting for the fab sweet and sour meatballs that came out of the America's Test Kitchen's "Best Of" for 2011.  They were one of the things I made, and all 120+ of them were gone!  A meatball was a hit with this crowd that grew up in the '40s and '50s!!

Most Confusing Menu Item

Okay . . . my very hip and trendy friends (smile) told me, "Don't serve punch!!  Too passe'.  The in thing is fruited water."  Great!  Sounded easy . . . sounded cheap . . . sounded cool.  What's not to like?   3 gallons of chilled water, with a delicious layer of quartered strawberries, sliced apples, sliced oranges and sliced lemons, floating on the water, giving a hint of fruity-ness and a slight sweetness of sugar added to the water.

I think the guests were confused.  Fruit in water??  These guests grew up in the '40s and '50s.  They served fruit punch in the '60s, sherbet punch in the '70s, and white grape juice/ginger ale in the '80s.  What was with this fruited water?

My kids said that in the greenish beverage jar it looked like pond water.

If I could have found a box of lime sherbet, a can of pineapple juice, and a 2 liter of ginger ale somewhere, I would have grabbed it in a heartbeat!

Best Musical Moment of the Evening

Four guys around the piano, singing "Let me Call You Sweetheart."

Best Reason to Have a 50th Wedding Anniversary Celebration

Celebrating with friends that have known and loved you forever!

Happy Anniverary, Mom and Dad!